AFP/London


George Chuter, the Leicester hooker and England 2007 World Cup finalist, yesterday announced his immediate retirement from professional rugby. The 37-year-old is the first player to make 250 Premiership appearances, going on to line up in 292 first-team games in 13 seasons with Leicester.
He has played in seven Premiership finals at Twickenham, a record he shares with former Tigers club captain Geordan Murphy. Chuter has been a part of a Leicester squad which reached four European Cup Finals and won 24 caps for England.
“To play nearly 300 games for Leicester and 100 for Saracens before that, plus 40 for England at various levels, gives me great pride,” he said.
Chuter added: “Now I can finally get a bit of perspective and think about how long I’ve played the game, how many matches and how many training sessions I’ve been involved in.  “A lot of guys move around to find fresh challenges but I’ve always had my challenges here. Every day has been a challenge and that has kept me fresh and eager for so many years.”
Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: “George has been a great servant of the club, and of professional rugby, for a long time. “To play so many games at the top level of the club game, as well as internationally, and with the competition he has faced throughout his career, shows just how good a player he has been.”

Bicep surgery puts Potgieter
out for six months
Bulls loose forward Dewald Potgieter has been ruled out for six months after surgery on a torn bicep, the Super Rugby franchise said.
Potgieter, who has six caps for South Africa, was injured in a defeat at the Wellington Hurricanes a fortnight ago and flew back from New Zealand for the operation, along with teammate Deon Stegmann, who will undergo an operation on a groin injury next week and could be out for up to four months. The 27-year-old Potgieter only returned to the Bulls in March after spending six months playing in Japan. Potgieter and Stegmann join Pierre Spies, Arno Botha and Frik Kirsten on the club’s long-term injury list.

Bordeaux’s Aussie
winger Connor sidelined
Bordeaux’s Australian wing Blair Connor will miss the rest of the French Top14 season with ankle and knee injuries, the club announced. He suffered the problem during the 22-20 defeat to Toulon on Saturday and is expected to be out of action for six weeks. Connor, 25, joined from Queensland Reds in 2010 when Bordeaux were still in the second division.
Last September he signed a two-year extension to his deal with an option for a further season. Bordeaux’s problems meanwhile were compounded with injuries also in Saturday’s match to props Laurent Delhoubes (head knock) and Jefferson Poirot (left ankle). Bordeaux, fighting to break into the Top 14 play-offs, face Stade Francais on Saturday.

ARU jeopardise major asset
in Folau farce
The fallout over the Australian Rugby Union’s decision to withdraw Israel Folau from a Super Rugby match at the weekend continued on Monday with some suggesting the Wallabies fullback could turn his back on the code because of it.
Folau, who has scored 26 tries in 33 matches since his switch from Australian Rules, was named in New South Wales Waratahs team to play Western Force on Saturday, only for the ARU to withdraw him on the eve of the match. The ARU cited concerns over the throat injury that had forced him to miss the Waratahs’ previous two matches, but the player and his coach Michael Cheika were furious.